In response to a late January letter from ATA president Bill Graves, FMCSA Chief Counsel T.F. Scott Darling III on Feb. 22 denied a request to delay compliance with the new rules from a scheduled July 1 start date until three months after a federal court issues its decision on challenges to hours of service that ATA and other groups have filed. The letter from Graves was originally written to FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro.

In Darling’s letter he said, “Basically, your request to delay the compliance date of the rule is really a request for a stay, pending a decision by the court, plus an additional three months of non-compliance. The FMCSA has evaluated the issued raised in your letter and, for the reasons set forth in this response, has determined that staying the compliance date of the rule is not warranted.”

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In Graves' letter to the agency, he wrote, “The requested delay will avoid potentially duplicative and unnecessary training, prevent confusion if the court’s decision alters in any manner the final rule, and, given the anticipated short length of the delay, will have no measureable impact on highway safety.”

FMCSA apparently did not agree. Darling said FMCSA does not believe ATA has demonstrated good reason to delay compliance, and that uncertainty over the outcome of the court case does not mean trucking or the enforcement community will be harmed. Darling said FMCSA is not willing “to sacrifice what may be several months of public safety benefits from the timely implementation of the rule.”

Oral arguments in the case are set for March 15. It’s not uncommon for courts to take at least a couple of months to render a decision.

The challenge to the updated hours-of-service regulations centers on allowing use of the 34-hour restart only once a week, with each restart to include time off between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for two straight days, as well as the provision requiring drivers to take a half-hour break after no more than eight hours of driving.

Comments

1.vernon hines[ February 27, 2013 @ 04:52AM ]

Each year there are issues with hours of Serviice never anythig about pay.Pay is a bigger with the trkig industry then anything.A flood of young driver with problem to keep pay down.For the time spent away from home driver need to be better paid.NO PLACES TO PARK I DO NOT SEE GARDENS IN ANY BACK YARDS,PUBLIC THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT TRKS ARE UNEDUCATED ABOUT TRUCKS.THIS IS THERE BLOOD TO ALL THEY ENJOY AN EAT.A CHANGE NEED TO TAKE PLACE.WE WOULD LIKE TO SPENT TIME HOME.ALL YOU GET NOW IS A LOT OF UNGRACEFUL PEOPLES AN LAWS THAT OR GETTING OUT OF HAND.

2.Nic [ February 27, 2013 @ 07:04AM ]

I wish the "safety administration" was about SAFETY! Seems to me the only thing they're about is making as many rules as they can to limit drivers as to how much money they can make by constantly changing log book rules. The more rules they make the more we can break, and that means revenue for them and less for us. Anybody else see a pattern here?

3.Melody[ February 27, 2013 @ 08:55AM ]

No matter what...If every single one of you would shut yours truck off for one day...now matter where you are, all at the same time. I am sure you would get your way about EVERYTHING...the second the last truck shuts off. It can't be about the money, because truckers are loosing more and more everyday. zero is zero ...not making money or turning off the truck for a day.

4.Rich Kruml[ February 27, 2013 @ 10:33AM ]

I am glad I retired.The last 10 years I operated I ran 3 log books and never got nailed once for a violation.If I had 2 hours left and was presented with a 2500 mile load I was not dumb enough to turn down that $$$$, after that was the ONLY reason I was driving.Poor drivers now with all the electronic and satellite snitch tools cannot even make a half decent living.If a driver is not capable of driving at least 3000 3500 miles a week they do not belong behind the wheel.This can all stop if ALL the truckers abide by every hour of the regs and park the minute their hours run out, LOG EVERYTHING, start with the tankers and see what happens.This country would be on their knees in 10 days if EVERYBODY would log every minute, even talking to someone. Just do it and let the fun begin.

5.Dennis[ February 27, 2013 @ 06:29PM ]

Sometimes I get home at 2 am. Now I have to wait till 5am to start counting my 34 hours . Great....So if 5am starts on Saturday then I can't leave till Sunday at 2pm. That's 37 hours.Think anyone is going to use restart easily? I got till 2014 when CARB, california smog, shuts me down.A lot of us independents are shutting down.Hope Calif and these self serving job securing burecurats eat shit with this shut down like I am now.I'm selling everything and seriously considering welfare enrollment.I,m tired of being raped by taxes and beurocratic self serving regulations I'm suppose to abide by when government is broke themselves with their so called necessary prodicals

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